Set in exotic New Orleans, Dr. Victor Helios (aka Dr. Frankenstein) is still alive, and still practicing his wicked ways behind the façade of running a legitimate business called Helios Biovision. At the abandoned Hands Of Mercy Hospital, instead of simply reanimating corpses, Victor is using new technology not only to extend his own life but to create life from scratch. His new technology includes direct-to-brain downloads so his creations emerge fully ready to take on their roles in life. Creations like Erika Four, his lovely custom made wife, the fourth he's gone through so far; and Randal Six, who's been created with autism so that Victor can experiment with using autism to develop more focused workers.

The monster, born of the grave, also immortal and now calling himself Deucalion, is living in Tibet with a group of monks. When he receives a letter informing him that Victor is still alive, Deucalion decides he must travel into the real world again to find a way to destroy Victor. He travels to New Orleans and moves into the Luxe Theater with his old carnival friend Jelly Biggs.

Detectives Carson O'Conner and Michael Maddison are assigned to the case of a new serial killer who's killing young ladies and removing specific body parts from them (hands, eyes, ears, etc). The bodies of three men missing internal organs complicate the case. The killer has been nicknamed The Surgeon, and partners O'Conner and Maddison must find him before he strikes again. Aside from her tight work schedule, Carson is also caring for her autistic younger brother Arnie.

Strange bodies turn up at the morgue, Carson runs into a mysterious man claiming there are more like him "out there", and Victor continues his evil experiments. Reviving Frankenstein sounds like it would be a weak or clichéd idea, but Koontz and Anderson pull it off. Despite pilfered ideas from the old Black & White movies The Frozen Dead and The Brain That Wouldn't Die, not to mention a character similar to one already created in Koontz's 'Hideaway', there's enough new and unique material in the story to make it dynamic and highly entertaining. Watch out, the book ends in a real cliffhanger, so you'll want to have book two, 'City Of Night', already beside your elbow. Although I became disappointed in Koontz after 'Mr. Murder', it seems he's regained his old formula with this Frankenstein series and written a seat-of-your-pants novel. I recommend this book to horror and thriller fans. Enjoy!

I'd only read the first three Odd Thomas books of Koontz's, but thought I'd try Frankenstein, because the review on Amazon said it was not a rehash of the old tale. And, it wasn't. It's a refreshing twist on the resurfacing of the madman (he was never destroyed, and actually resents that Shelley woman's story), but with a clean dash of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, a pinch of James Lee Burke's detective angle, all with a flavor of hi-test horror. I'm starting on Vol 2 tonight!

Very creepy, but Koontz telegraphs the next horrible action again and again. Not up to his usual standards at all. Shipping and condition of book was, as usual, perfect in this case however.

I admit, the idea is very origonal, yet Dean Koontz (who I'm shocked had anything to do with this book) could have made this book so much better. I've read many of his novels and this is by far the worst.
The more I read the more outlandish the story got, and I found myself laughing at the end when Johnathon was running from the cops with a baby monster creature hanging half attached to the inside of his belly, as he was giving birth to it.
I did however think the storyline of the retarded boy who could only move through a series of imaginary crossword boxes was cool, but I will probably not be reading the next one. I dont even think he's going to finish the series anyway. It was scheduled to come out like 2 years ago.
Dean Koontz has always been one of my favorite authors. I just hope he's not losing his luster for writing.

This book is amazing on so many levels. It takes the traditional Frankenstein story and weaves a modern tale of secrets, deception, and corruption hidden under a thin veneer of high society. It is creepy how probable some of the things in this book are. It is a sad tale, but it pulls you in and won't let go. I would recommend this book for anyone with a healthily inquisitive mind and a bit of empathy.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Read this book and meet Randall 6.

I bought this book because it was one of the few I hadn't read of Koontz yet. I didn't know what to expect because the Frankenstein idea has become almost a cliche. I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't put the book down. I immediatelly went out and bought book 2. Now I'm waiting for the third to be written. I strongly recommend this book for any Koontz fan.

Thank you Dean for this marvelous book. It's so fun and entertaining to read. Very suspensefull too. I look forward to reading book 2.

When I first saw this book for sale, I had doubts about how good it would be considering the title "Prodigal Son - Dean Koontz's Frankenstein". But being an avid Dean Koontz fan I ordered and read it despite my doubts. Wow! Next to the "Odd Thomas" trilogy, the "Frankenstein" books are my favorites. The characters are real, the story is interesting & fast-paced. I absolutely loved Book 1 and Book 2. I can't wait for number 3 to come out!

Although this book is imaginative as far a continuing the present day life of Victor Frankenstein and his creations I was unimpressed. Its a quick read but not the on your seat type of book. Don't get me wrong its ok. I just expected a lot more.

Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son is one of Dean Koontz's best novels. It is fast-paced, full of action and suspense, and the characters are ones you become attached to. Definitely a page turner...I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend this to anyone who loves a suspenseful thriller. Warning: Once you've read this, you'll have to read #2...and if you liked it as much as I did, you'll probably end up angry that #3 isn't out yet. Can't wait!

Dean Koontz does and excellent job with his take on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. The story takes place in modern day and Victor Frankenstein (now better known as Victor Helios)has been alive for centuries creating his super human "New Race" of people who he plans to one day control to wipe out man kind (the "Old Race")and create his vision of a more powerful productive world. Now it is up to Detectives O'Conner and Maddison with the help of Victores original monster who now goes by the name Deacullion to stop Victor and his New Race and save mankind.

This was a great book that was hard to put down. If you have the time its very easy to read in one sitting. It offers suspense, excitment and a bit of humor. Highly recomended for all Koontz fans.

We seen the story Frankenstein in movies. The tale has been told over and over again. But this book puts a new spin on a great and legendary character.
Welcome to the future ...Frankenstein in the modern age. This book is compelling, thrilling, and full of mystery and suspense.

This is a must read for fans of Frankenstein.

I'll say up front that I am not a Dean Koontz fan. I loved the Watchers but the next couple of Koontz books left me cold and so I stopped reading him after that. I say this not to bash him as an author, but to establish that my praise for this book is based on its own merits and not any admiration for the author in general.

When I saw that this book was based on the Frankenstein mythos, it grabbed my attention and I decided to take a chance on Prodigal Son. While the book starts off a touch slow as it introduces a number of characters and subplots, it quickly builds tension and speed. Detective Carson O'Conner is the central character but Victor Frankenstein and his perspective are also prevalent throughout the story. There are two serial killers at work and for very different reasons both the police and Victor want to find one of the murderers. I don't want to spoil the plot so I'll stay away from the details but the characters are very well handled and I found it to be more and more of a page turner as I went along. There are also some enjoyable scenes featuring Victor's creations as they use their superhuman strength and speed if you enjoy a good monster fest.

I only had a couple of quibbles with this book. First, it is only the first of a planned series of three so it doesn't have a true ending. Many of the threads are tied up but there is a real cliffhanger on the last page. I would prefer that the story be more self-contained even if there is a larger tale to continue in later novels. Second, one of the serial killers takes up a large part of the first half of the book and then his part of the story comes to a screeching halt with no real payoff. While his presence makes a somewhat interesting contrast and parallel to Victor, it's hard to say that the character really needed half the space he was given, so it almost seems like filler in hindsight. Still, his story was fairly interesting so it's far from devastating to the book.

Taken as a whole, I definitely enjoyed Prodigal Son. I have not yet decided if I'll buy the next two chapters (only the second book is even available as I write this) but this was a good read and may even convince me to try another Koontz book at some point.

I'm not much of a Dean Koontz fan; his tendency to use `deus ex machina' to resolve plots and such has always put me off. I'm also not much of a fan of the horror genre anyway, so I rarely read Koontz. However I had heard a bunch about this series, including the rumor that Martin Scorsese had at one time expressed in interest in producing it for TV. Anyway, I was really kind of glad to read this and see that Koontz had put a little life and a novel twist to the old story. I'm actually looking forward to the next two parts.

The story offers little by way of surprise. Yes, it's about Frankenstein. Yes, that Frankenstein. We learn that Viktor Frankenstein was a real person, not merely a figment of Mary Shelley's imagination. Two hundred years ago, he learned so much about the human body from his experiments that he succeeded in creating a semi-human being--the original Frankenstein monster. He also learned how to augment his own body in order to defy death.

Two hundred years later, Frankenstein is still alive and living under an alias in (pre-Hurricane Katrina) New Orleans, where he is still creating "new" humans in the hope of eventually repopulating the earth with his super-race, eliminating the "old" humans, and becoming the godlike ruler of the world.

His first creation is still around as well. He's given himself the name Deucalion (after the Noah-like ark builder of ancient Greek mythology) and has been living a life of seclusion in a Buddhist monastery in Asia. When Frankenstein created Deucalion, he hadn't yet learned the finer points of making his "new" people look exactly like the "old" humans, so Deucalion is horribly disfigured. He's shy, gentle, huge, ugly, and basically your all-around likeable 200-year-old nice giant.

When Deucalion learns that Frankenstein is still alive, he sets out for New Orleans to kill him before he can carry out his evil plans. Meanwhile, one of Frankenstein's new creations has gone haywire and begun a killing spree in the Big Easy. The cops are stymied by the mysterious case, and their problems are only compounded by the fact that unknown to them, one of the detectives working on the case is a member of Frankenstein's new race. Things come to a head when Deucalion joins forces with the cops and the fact that there are strange human-like beings with two hearts and other obviously engineered features running around the city comes to light.

This is the first in a trio of books about the strangely deathless Frankenstein and the problems brought about by his sinister creativity. The book's characters are reasonably well developed, and the settings are brought to life with lavishly descriptive prose, neither of which is surprising in a Dean Koontz book. More surprising is the amount of sexual content--way to much in my view. Profanity is kept to a reasonable level, but the violence and gore is a bit over the top at times.

All in all, I liked the book. My main hesitation in recommending it is that there doesn't seem to be any real reason to read it. Whereas the original Frankenstein was a social morality tale masked in a horror story, this is pretty much just a horror story with little to commend it by way of a moral. Readers who want a scary book that will challenge them to think would be better off reading Koontz's much earlier (and solo) work Watchers, a Frankenstein-like story about the dangers of genetic manipulation and social hierarchies.

The Monster? No, the book! Dean Koontz has teamed up with Kevin Anderson (of Star Wars fiction fame) to produce one of the poorest written books I may have ever had the displeasure to come across. The story is actually not half bad. The basic idea was fairly thought provoking and honestly, the ONLY reason I read the book was because I am currently working on a Frankenstein novel myself and wanted to see what Koontz was doing with the character and story. Quite a bit, I can tell you, and again, the *story* is really pretty good.

The writing, however...

It reads like two people wrote this sitting in the same chair, fighting over the keyboard. I've never seen more awkward use of tags in dialog. The main police detective characters are absolutely horrible, but ironically, very funny. I was surprised at the amount of humor in "Prodigal Son" and the Frankenstein monster looks to be a compelling character with numerous layers of depth. I want to know more about him (and the lightening's effect on him when he was created.)

Dr. Victor Helios (Victor Frankenstein--he takes on the name of Helios for several reasons) is extremely uninteresting and stereotyped like the blood-n-guts, shoot-first cops I mentioned and I found New Orleans to be a poor setting. Reminds me too much of Rice's vampire town. He should have set the book in Europe, IMHO, but who am I?

Koontz (as I've said in other reviews) is hit and miss with me. Some of his stuff (like "Odd Thomas") is both brilliant AND entertaining. Not this. I haven't read all of Koontz's work yet, but so far this is (mechanically) his worst, in my opinion. I remember a brief note Koontz posted on his web site saying that he was disappointed in the Frankenstein book(s) himself and would finish the series solo. He certainly can't do worse and I suspect the collaboration may be at fault. I've never read Anderson's books, but I'm pretty familiar with Koontz and it just didn't jive with what I had read before. I suspect Book 3 will be very different from Books 1 ("Prodigal Son") and 2 ("City of Night"). Let's hope so.

"Odd Thomas", however...you really should read "Odd Thomas" if you haven't already.

Koontz is a gripping author and Frankenstein is no exception. If you like twists on old stories then this book will satisfy you to no end!

I decided to read this book after I was told of its' existance from a friend. I hadn't previously been a big Dean Koontz reader, having only read maybe 2-3 of his stories, but the idea of a new Frankenstein story intrigued me. I was definitely not disappointed in any way with this story. It almost felt like light-hearted reading compared to some of the other stuff that I had read recently. While not as much as I'm used to, it had enough action and gore to keep me going, and what a great story it contains! I zipped through the first two books just in time for that supposed 'Winter '06' Book 3 release, and I have yet to see anything further about it. I really want to see how this story continues, and I think anyone even slightly curious about this story will feel the same. If you happened to catch the movie that was released related to this, don't even bother comparing....the book is SO much better

Koonz is the only author that I've ever read where I either love or hate the book. I have to say, the first two Frankenstein books are the best of the best. I pessimistically began this book thinking, "How is he going to pull of Frankenstein living in the 21st century?" Not only did Koontz pull it off, he did it with flying colors. The book reads fast, there is the right mix of understated humor and supernatural story telling, combined with well developed characters that hold the readers interest. I'd recommend reading both books one and two, as the final installment of the trilogy is due out in early 07.

I didn't like the only other Dean Koontz book I've ever read, Watchers, but I enjoy reading Kevin Anderson's stuff so I thought I'd give Koontz another try because I'm a reasonable person and I understand that not everyone can like everything by an author. On to the review: I realize that this book was initially meant to be a screenplay but I think the authors would have been wise to rewrite it instead of just tweaking it a little when the movie deal fell through. The dialog is mind-numbing and predictable. Every time there was a car scene I could guess what kind of conversation would be held. "You drive too fast!" "Are you my mother?" Over and over and over.

The idea was good. A modern-day Frankenstein . . . or rather a Frankenstein that had never died and had made it to present day (yes, I know, Frankenstein was the doctor, not his monster. But you get what I'm saying.). But the dialog read exactly like a movie script would, or like a play. This book had so much potential but the authors' laziness in not rewriting the entire thing after the movie wasn't made cost it dearly.

Keeping my review simple. This is a great series - I own book one and two. If you think you will like it, you will love it.

What a great concept. I love Dean Koontz books, without exception, so it's no wonder I loved this one, too!

Leave it to Koontz to come up with a way to reenergize the Frankenstein story.

As usual Dean Koontz has created a world peopled with interesting individuals. The monster isn't a monster and the handsome doctor is! Although the book has many pages, it reads almost like real time and is over too soon. You want to see what happens next, you feel for the people in is book. I am eager to read Frankenstein, Book 3.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Fast paced, detailed characters, original story, and an epic feel make this a great read. I haven't liked other Koontz before, but I guess Kevin J. Anderson helped pull Dean up to his level. I look forward to the continuing story -- especially by veteran writer Ed Gorman.

Having recently finished Velocity, which had me hooked until the abrupt and meaningless ending, Koontz's modern spin on a classic tale is tremendous through and through, except for the fact that it had to end somewhere.
Koontz sets up a brilliant storyline, beginning with the gruesome yet loveable Deucalion, otherwise known as Dr. Frankenstein's first creation. Weaving in series of characters from their viewpoints, including a homicidal female body part-collecting freak, Victor Helios (Dr. Frankenstein, who through his own bio-technology and enhancement has been able to keep himself alive for all these years), the doctor's wife, and a young autistic creation of Frankenstein's whose fascination with crosswords and order keep him somewhat sane.
The only thing that I would have changed, had I been the author, would be the character that collects female body parts. The fact that he was neither a creation, nor involved with Helios or anyone else, until Helios had him taken out, was a bit odd to me. He was undoubtedly a fascinating character; however, his relevance to the story is a mystery to me and seemed to just be a façade for adding a bit more length or meat to the novel.
Other than that minor detail, which subtracted an imperceptible amount from the book, I loved the book and it was an extraordinarily fast read. The next thing I plan to do is pick up the sequel and continue to follow the tales of the valiant Deucalion and his treacherous architect.

Dean Koontz is one of the best genre writers working today. I have read most of his fifty plus novels, and I think PRODIGAL SON ranks as one of his best recent efforts.

PRODIGAL SON is the first in a planned trilogy of books that retells the story of Frankenstein in modern times. Book Two was released last year and the final volume will be released next summer. Like most fans, I'm eagerly awaiting that third book, which is over a year late.

The plot of PRODIGAL SON is very enteraining and fast-paced. It has very short chapters, kind of like a James Patterson novel. This is a good book for younger readers, since it is written in a very simple, staightforward style.

If you're new to Koontz, this is a very good place to start. Some of Koontz' books are somehwat overwritten and tedious, but PRODIGAL SON does not fall into that category. This isn't a great novel, but it's tons of fun.

If you like this book, I recommend reading some of Koontz' earlier work, such as WATCHERS, ODD THOMAS, MIDNIGHT, and DRAGON TEARS.

I really liked the idea of a modernday Frankenstein book. The plot is very cool and revolves around a number of very interesting characters. But the problem is there are like 92 chapters in this book. That makes each chapter about six pages long. In six pages you can't really be absorbed into the story. Just when something begins to happen that is exciting...BAM you're chapter is over and you are reading about another character. Sometiems chapters even split a single scene into two parts.

Bottom line is that the book is good...but I just couldn't really get into it. (But I will be reading book 2, hopefully it will flow a bit better than this one)

From the celebrated imagination of Dean Koontz comes a powerful reworking of one of the classic stories of all time. If you think you know the story, you know only half the truth. Get ready for the mystery, the myth, the terror, and the magic of...

DEAN KOONTZ'S PRODIGAL SON

Every city has secrets. But none as terrible as this. His name is Deucalion, a tattooed man of mysterious origin, a sleight-of-reality artist who's traveled the centuries with a secret worse than death. He arrives as a serial killer stalks the streets, a killer who carefully selects his victims for the humanity that is missing in himself. Detective Carson O'Connor is cool, cynical, and every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner Michael Maddison would back her up all the way to Hell itself-and that just may be where this case ends up. For the no-nonsense O'Connor is suddenly talking about an ages-old conspiracy, a near immortal race of beings, and killers that are more-and less-than human. Soon it will be clear that as crazy as she sounds, the truth is even more ominous. For their quarry isn't merely a homicidal maniac-but his deranged maker.

Having never read a Koontz novel before I was looking forward to my first one. So I picked this up. Boy, what a disappointment. For 469 pages all I kept asking myself is what is going on? Why is this happening and what's the point of the entire book? In short, I felt the entire book was a big mess. Koontz co-wrote this book with someone else and it reads like it. It seems that these two guys were locked in separate rooms and wrote two different stories and never bothered to talk to one another while they were writing.

Characters pop up and storylines are laid out that lead to nowhere. One character, who happens to be autistic, can only walk while he completes imaginary crossword puzzles in his mind. Sounds interesting but his story has no plot or ending whatsoever. I have no idea how this characted is connected to the other characters in this book.

For almost the first 50% of this book deals with pieces of what I was hoping would be a much larger, more coherent puzzle. I was waiting for something to happen but it never did. If Frankenstein is still alive than only a few people were murdered and it seems no one actually cared except two cops. Hardly what I would call earth shaking considering who the killer(s) could be.

I think I'll pass on any further Koontz novels for now. I was never a big fiction fan but friends of mine talked me into testing the waters with Koontz, Patterson, Brown, etc. I think I'll go back to by non-fiction books for awhile and save this tripe for the beach.

First, you need to know that Dean Koontz has long been my favorite writer. Second, I have read almost all of his books. However, this is not up to his standards, and I wonder if the co-author (Kevin J. Anderson) did most of the writing. It lacks everything most Koontz novels have: humor, love, super-intelligent animals, a touch of the supernatural, a sense of awe and wonder, optimism, and a well-developed protagonist you can care about and identify with. And while a few of Koontz's books have had sequels, his books have never left you hanging like this one, with so much unsettled, so much unresolved. The romance is just hinted at between the two cops, and Deucalion, while interesting, is too super-human and not well enough developed to identify with and care about. And finally, "In a mansion as large as this, a severed hand had to do alot of crawling to get where it wanted to go," has to be one of the silliest lines in the history of literature. i can't even tell whether this was meant as humor or to be taken seriously.

Book one of Dean Koontz's FRANKENSTEIN is a solid, entertaining read. I don't know if it should be taken as a conpliment or criticism of Koontz or Gorman, but I really couldn't tell which parts had been written by Koontz and which by Gorman (or whether Gorman wrote the whole thing, in the style of Koontz).

Anyway, it's not Koontz's most original or forceful storytelling, but it passes the page-turning test. It kept me hooked until the end, and had me wanting to read the continuation in the second book.

Koontz's FRANKENSTEIN lays bare, to a heightened extent, many of the faults and virtues of Koontz's writing in general. The novel is extremely readable, but it suffers from a patness of character and plotting. It's a good book, but not a great one.

Still, a good book's a good book.

I rented the made for TV pilot of Frankenstien and was really upset when the story left me hanging.
I loved the book and and I am in the process of reading the second one.

The book was a good read and has a new twist on the story of Franenstein and his Monster.

I came to Dean Koontz's Frankenstein by a long and twisty (and needless to say, dark) road. We could go so far as to call it an Odd road.

What I can tell you is this--that while Koontz's Frankenstein is unspeakably more bloody and peculiar than his difficult but touching Odd Thomas books, it is every bit as satisfying a piece of writing. It is a compulsive read, and it tells the truth within the lie of fiction.

It is not for the faint of heart. But if you are willing to think about the existence of evil, and if you are willing to believe that there are still people who give up everything to combat it--if you hope that if need be, you might be one of those people--this frightening series set so perfectly in New-Orleans-That-Was is for you.

Deucalion--and Cheez-Its!--forever!

this is the first koontz's book that i read
it really is a fantastic book to read and very intriguing too..
it makes me think how a "monster" like deucalion can find peace in tibet and it intrigues me on how these "monsters" keep on searching on what can make them happy..
one of the element in this book is perfection and it shows that perfection doesn't exist.. sure, physically these monsters have it all, two hearts, immunity to pain but what makes them crazy and truly a monster is their quest to what really is missing in them, emotion, the true feeling of happiness...
the story flows smoothly that i just want to keep going to get to the bottom of it..
another thing that is also a plus for me is that koontz mentioned about autism, carson's brother who is autistic and also one of victor's creation which was based on autism..it was an eye opener for me...
and i'm really looking forward to read the 2nd installment and also the rest of his books..
truly amazing!!

I am a 15 year old girl with not much knowledge of the vintage frankenstein but id like to say that this was one of the most gripping books i have ever read.... i could not put it down, ever! i had to sit there for hours just reading the book, that's how good Dean Koontz appeals to me! i am currently reading the second book and i cant put it down, either

much luck,
Kat

This book was jam packed with intriguing characters, had a solid storyline, and a very unique plot.

The only downside would be the banter between the two main characters, which was rather annoying at times. Other than that, this was a terrific read.

The whole Roy Pribeaux sub plot is also interesting, but considering the development and the unwinding of the plot, seems rather pointless with respects to the overall story.

It also would have been nicer had the story focused on Jelly Biggs and Deucalion, who are two fascinating characters that weren't involved enough IMO.

I highly recommend this book, as it is one of the best from a great author.

As a writer, Dean Koontz is a favorite of mine because of hs tremendous imagination and his ability to place a reader into a strange and distant world without making them roll their eyes. It's quite an impressive feat.

That being said, I feel that Frankenstein is a "take it or leave it" as far as Koontz books go. My wife and I were discussing the contrasts between his better and lesser novels, and we decided that no matter what the book, his writing is great. It is his ability to bring magic into worlds that decides the fate of his books. I was disappointed with Frankenstein because there was no magic.

I enjoyed the Monster's character. I wanted more. The others were so-so and I really felt like the book didn't take us very far.

But Koontz has an amazing imagination. This may not be his best work, but deserves nothing less than 4 stars because even when he's not at his best, he is a champion wordsmith. I'd say get this book used if you must buy it. If you're not an avid Koontz reader,d skip it entirely and move to something tried and true. It's just an opinion, of course, but but it's one I feel confident in.

Despite all this I can still say THANK GOD KOONTZ HASN'T LOST HIS TOUCH. My favorite aspect of this book was very CS Lewis-like. He really helped show that we are created human--flaws and all--for a purpose. If you think you can make "improvemnets" on mankind, you will be much mistaken and find that choice and faith and supersticion are what make us a seccessful creation. Love and hate and disaster and intrigue are all a part of happiness. The way Koontz writes it, you'll have to read that between the lines, but it's not difficult. He's a master at what he does.

I have mixed feelings about Dean Koontz - some times I like his writing and sometimes it doesn't work for me at all. But the idea of retelling and extending the Frankenstein legend appealed to me for many reasons, first of all, it is one of those quintessential horror stories that combine pure horror with questions of rebirth and immortality. And secondly, no one has ever quite gotten it right since Mary Shelley first penned what is really one of the first great works of science fiction.

In Koontz's work Baron Frankenstein has ceased to be a sympathetic researcher fighting to prove that life can be created. Something in his mind broke on that desperate night when his creature first awoke, and the doctor has pursued the creation of life not because it is a miracle, but because he wants to replace humanity with creatures of his own engineering, replacing our chaos with a cold utopian world where he is the ultimate tyrant. Now he pursues his dark science as Victor Helios, on of New Orleans most respected citizens by day, and a sadistic experimenter by night.

When his original creation, who now calls himself Deucalion (the Greek version of Noah), finds that Victor Frankenstein still lives, and is the end of humanity, Mary Shelley's monster realizes he must oppose his creator. For in living in a human world Deucalion has discovered the humanity in himself that Frankenstein left behind. The monster is human now, and the human has become a monster. One who has been insinuating his creations into society long enough to be untouchable by the law.

Almost coincidentally another monster wanders the streets of New Orleans, a serial killer who is desperately looking for something he knows is missing from himself. As he reaps 'perfect' parts for his own collection he runs afoul of the evil he imitates. Detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison join to hunt the killer down and find that the complex clues lead to more than they bargained for and that Deucalion may be their only hope of survival.

Dean Koontz (and Kevin Anderson, who gets a byline) do a great job of taking a plot that Koontz originally intended to be a TV special and making into the first novel of a trilogy which mixed serial killers and mad scientists with aplomb. Koontz has always had a talent for developing his characters, whether they be human or not and one again he manages to bring this story to life in such a fashion as to make it stay with you even when the last page goes by. If the books continue at this level, horror lovers are in for a rare treat.

This was a fast paced read for me (and not many are these days). Koontz takes the two pivotal characters from Shelly's "Frankenstein" and brings them forward to modern times. Dr. Frankenstein is still up to his unethical tricks and has managed to prolong his own life through various methods (and oodles of $) while his first creation patch-worked from various body parts "Deucalion" has also survived. Deucalion has spent many years searching for purpose and has quietly been living among monks to find peace. He is brought out of his world of tranquility when he learns that Dr. Frankenstein is still creating monsters (though this time via modern methods). One of Dr. F's creations has gone renegade and become a serial killer (and collector of various body parts). Deucalion, because he knows Dr. F's motives so well, joins forces with the police to help find the killer. This book held my attention from beginning to end with an interesting story as well as interesting characters. It's humorous and horrifying and a very good read.

With over 40 novels to his credit, many of them bestsellers, there is little disputing that Dean Koontz is one of the world's most successful novelists. However Koontz's career has had its ups and downs. I like to look at his career as a 4-phase wave. The first phase was when Dean was still refining his chops as a novelist with early thrillers such as "Night Chills", "The Vision" and "Funhouse". These novels were highly entertaining, albeit somewhat unsophisticated works of suspense. Phase 2 of his career, which occurred during the 1980's, is the best, with an endless stream of classics, most notably "Phantoms", "Watchers", "Strangers" "Midnight" and
"Lightning". Koontz stayed in top form for nearly a decade and a half before hitting a nose-dive in the later half of the 90's with what I like to consider phase 3 of his career, where his writing started to get soft, melancholic and where Dean was constantly trying to prove to people that "I'm not a horror writer". Novels released during this period such as "From the corner of his eye", "One door away from heaven", and "The Face" while still managing to maintain commercial success were among the worst of his career. Phase 4 is what I like to refer to as the resuscitation of Dean's career, which started with the excellent "Odd Thomas" in 2003, "Velocity", the post-apocalyptic "The Taking" and now his 3-volume reworking of Frankenstein. Yep, Koontz is back at the top of his game and as a lifelong fan of his works I couldn't be any happier.

Koontz's new saga takes place in the city of New Orleans where unbeknownst to the general populace and its authority figures Victor "Frankenstein" Helios has been busy designing and developing a "New Race", a more sophisticated kind that he wants to populate the world with. Helios is certifiably mad of course, and his experiment begins to take an unexpected turn when some of his subjects start to malfunction and rebel against their commands by brutally murdering civilians around the city. Investigating the case are detectives Carson O'Connor and her cynical partner Michael. Once it becomes apparent that the murders are not the mere work of a serial killer but that there are more mysterious forces behind them, they enlist the help of Deucalion, Victor Helios' first creation who has now rebelled against his maker and his kind.

Apparently this novel is co-written by Kevin J. Anderson although it's unclear to me what part he had in writing the novel since this story has Koontz's signature stamp and style all over it. He is finally returning to the type of thriller that elevated his career to new heights, which is the technology run amok theme with a vicious god-complex serial killer and other horrific elements thrown into the mix. The city of New Orleans, with its traditions of voodoo and the macabre, provides the perfect backdrop for what Koontz sets out to achieve.

I found it to be a refreshing idea that this time around it's police detectives, usually portrayed as the most cynical of species in popular fiction, that would believe in a supernatural entity. The female detective is the believer, the male one is the skeptic, kind of like a reversed Mulder & Scully. Once the two finally get over their cynicism, start to believe and go after Helios and his ghouls is when the book gets really interesting.

I must admit to agreeing with the several reviewers who have noted that this feels incomplete and ends abruptly and that's why I am awarding this a 4-*star review. When all is said and done, this series as a whole might merit 5 stars but as a stand-alone novel I can only give this one a 4. It takes too much time
setting up its premise and when it finally picks up steam, the novel ends.

Still, Dean Koontz's Frankenstein is shaping up to be an excellent series. This doesn't feel like a Mary Shelley rehash at all. I'm familiar with her tale yet was consistently surprised with the unexpected turns and directions Koontz went with this story. This definitely feels more like classic Koontz then what Shelley wrote. And with its short chapters (97 in all) it's great reading for commuters and/or those who don't usually have enough time to read fiction.

After reading "the Taken", I was a bit skeptical to buy another Koontz novel - that book was a throw away story. But after reading Frankenstein I am now leaning towards being in the Dean Koontz camp. Why leaning? Only because one book does not make a trend. He's batting 1 for 2 right now so I'll just wait & see.

This book is a real page turner. Not too scarey, but some good suspense and a great twist on a classic tale. It is a very believeable take on "what would happen if Dr Frankenstein & his monster never died and made it to the 21st century?".

There are more monsters in this book than you can keep track of, but each one has a story and in the end all the story lines meet up.

this book is very good as I have come to expect of Dean Koontz
I've been reading his books as long as he has been writing them and am never disappointed
I wish the 3rd book was coming sooner but i'll take it when I can get it

I am a big fan of classic horror films...although not necessarily of the source material the films were based on. Add to that I've only read a few Koontz books in my lifetime and I went into this book with a lot of skepticism. In this re-imagining of the Mary Shelly works, the Frankenstein Monster, called Deucalion, has survived and is leading a quiet life in a Tibetan Monsastery. He's secreted away from the rest of the world, safe and sound. He then learns, however, that his creater Victor Frankenstein is alive and well, and living in New Orleans, mad as ever.

Frankenstein is now a rich Tycoon, and is up to his old tricks of creating life, and hell-bent on replacing mankind with his laboratory spawned creations. Unlike the Lighting created patchwork of corpses, these new creatures have been created with the latest technology and been essentially grown in the lab, and designed to be perfect. When one of these "perfect" creations escapes and becomes a serial killer, Deucalion will actually join forces with a couple of cops to hunt down the creature and Frankenstein.

This is an interesting and intriguing take on the Frankenstein mythology. It's not Karloff and James Whale to be sure. The original monster owes much more to the original Shelly story. This monster is intelligent and thoughful and it is his creator who is the true monster. The characterizations of the monster and Freankenstein are well done and interesting. I thought it was perhaps a bit overlong and bogged down in some spots but overall I enjoyed the book.

A series of peculiar murders are happening in New Orleans. The monster -- Deucalion-- is called from Tibet to New Orleans because someone has recognized the true identity of a famous philantrophist: Victor Helios.

Helios has a plan to infiltrate mankind with his superior creations which he refers to as the "New Race." (I'm reminded of Damaskinos's "infected" Reaper vampires in the second BLADE movie-- more lethal than the "true-born" vampires.)

Helios, in the process of growing them (they cannot breed) has engineered in them (apart from supernatural strenght and intelligence), the desire to obey only him and strangely enough a command that will NOT allow them to destroy themselves. (I wondered how HELIOS, a UTOPIAN, would consider this necessary, if he had created a MASTER RACE?) Anyway, something has gone wrong!! SURPRISE! Some of his creations are beginning to think more than they should? They want to find the Bluebird of Happiness but they don't know how! They are, in a sense, becoming infected by the ordinary humans they are intended to supplant.

Note: Of particular interest is Koontz's serial killer, Roy Pribeaux, who has to be up there with Hannibal Lecter. His psychology is one the more "breathtaking" ones to be found in thrillers. How he manifests his hatred of unattractive people is "morbidly funny".

Erika, Viktor's vat-grown bride who is bred to be a wife and with a measure of "free will" or at least Viktor's definition of it.

And the literary treatment of 2 autistic characters: one human called Arnie who may be mildly precognitive and shares a talent with Deucalion . . . and Randal 6 who is engineered to be autistic!

I've read several versions of Mary Shelly's classic tale, but leave it to Dean Koontz to put his own spin on the book. This is a gripping novel that you can read in a day. Koontz fans will love it and those into monster tales may discover him as well. I can't wait to finish the 2nd in the series.

When I first heard about this book, I wonderded if it was going to be a new story or a continuation. Fortunately, a continuation.

I had read reviews about the book here and after the local library did not ever have a copy in sock, I bought it. I read it in 4 days, reading each night after work. I can say it was a good read. Steady flowing action, no real dull moments, no unnecessary story lines, etc. I was not disappointed at all.

I gave it only 4 stars, much for the same reason others have, the ending was rushed and abrupt. But, never fear, there is to be 3 more books before the real ending. So, we all have something to look forward to.

This is only the second Koontz book I have read, so I was unable to distinguish where he was writing and the other author was writing. More die hard Koontz fans may be able to tell the difference.

So, overall a good, smooth, never dull, read. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a different take on the classic tale of a mad scientist.

How do you make a Koontz novel better? More monsters! More intertwined story lines! More heroes!

I found this book exciting and extremely hard to put down. I found the usual Koontz witty style of writing, which I love. I also enjoyed this book more because there were more storylines to follow and they all collide which each other very nicely. Very well thought out.

The character development is also very well done. Each character complex and likeable or hateable. But, as each character develops, there are zero dull spots in the book, as some novelists spend too much time trying to develop characers with too many words.

The evil in this book outdoes most of Koontz's earler works. Sometimes I worry about Koontz, because these characters are so twisted and warped, I don't know if Koontz is quite sane or not.

I loved it and look forward to Book 2. It's a great modern take off of the original Frankenstein story. Well worth the time of any thriller/horror readers!